Identity
by Delia Ra'Nar
Summary: Jenn Greentree accompanies her father to his office at Wayne Tower shortly after the events in my first story Lapses I would defiantly read it first because I’m pretty sure you’ll have no idea what’s going on otherwise. Complete!
1. Ch 1 Wayne Tower

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Batman or any characters or locations related to same. Nor am I receiving any money for this story. I'm just borrowing, and all will be safely returned to DC comics, Warner Brothers, Bob Kane, and all those others who own a piece of him (none of whom are me) not any worse for the wear. So feel free to read without fear of reprisal.

Identity

Jenn Greentree walked dutifully down the long hall, hand in hand with her father. Even though she loved visiting the tall glistening building where he worked, she made sure to stay close by him because of the largeness of everything. Besides, this was the first time that she had really been anywhere since that scary man had taken her away after school. That had been weeks ago, and she had been too scared to leave the safety of her home, until last week anyway. Cause then the Batman had come, right to her window, but he hadn't scared her not one bit, not like the scary man did. She shuttered slightly and her dad scooped her up. Usually she would protest, her being all of six and a half and not a baby anymore, but at the moment she decided that she didn't mind the added sense of security, like when the Batman held her, even if her father wasn't as strong.

She had watched the Batman fight the scary man. She hadn't told anyone how scared it had made her that no matter how strong the Batman was, the scary man was stronger and once he killed the Batman, he had said that he was going to come back for her. The Batman had stopped him though, cause the Batman was smarter, but he still was thrown off the side of the building. Dad had told her afterward that the scary man was never going to get her again, but that the Batman was never coming back either. That he was gone. Just like mommy.

But she hadn't really believed him. She didn't think that the Batman was gone forever. He probably just flew away so he could get better from where the scary man hurt him. And she had been right because he had come to her window and told her not to be scared any more, looked at her with the kind of eyes that daddy got when he thought about mommy, and just let her hug him for a little while. He even patted her back, just like mommy used to. Then he looked at her with serious eyes and serious mouth and told her that the scary man wasn't coming back to hurt her. And she believed him. So now she ventured out with her father. Being brave. Still, she didn't mind his protective embrace.

Richard Greentree looked down at the child cradled in his arms. He couldn't believe how close he'd come to losing the other member of his small family to Gotham's lunatics. But this time, this time it hadn't happened. The Batman had intervened, at no small cost to himself. Richard would be ever grateful to him.

Today was once again their butler's day off, and Richard had finally convinced him to take it, so Richard had gone to pick up his little girl and brought her back to the office. His reasoning for bringing her was twofold, not only did he have some more work that really did need to be done, but he also though that it would be good for Jenn to go somewhere other then house and school. It had been over a month since the kidnapping and he could not allow his own protective impulses to isolate her. And Bruce wouldn't mind him bringing her either. In fact he might even want to see her. He had taken special interest in the Greentrees ever since Jenn's mother was killed last year in Dr. Crane's chemical attack on Gotham City. He had even asked about her several times and apologized for not returning sooner, but said that Gotham news was not exactly hot press in the Caribbean, which is where he had been mired for a few weeks on business. _Of course_ reflected Richard before he could stop himself, _Gotham's own billionaire playboy probably didn't spend three weeks in the Caribbean on only business_. He shook his head, slightly disgusted with himself. That was just idle rumor and gossip talking, and he tried to pay it no mind. No matter how easygoing and absent-minded Bruce sometimes seemed, Richard still had great respect for the man. It was hard to say why exactly. Probably the way his eyes would flash cold when another member of the board dared to suggest that Wayne Enterprises expand further into arms developing, or even worse, become involved in some of the more illicit deals that were sadly so common to Gotham. Not that the look ever stayed, you had to be sharp to catch it and he almost immediately melted back into his usual amiable gaze. And even these times had been getting fewer as those members who would think of suggesting such things were slowly weeded out.

Richard quietly wondered if Bruce had gotten some unsettling news while on vacation –er business, for he had several times caught the billionaire apparently lost in thought, with a very uncharacteristic expression on his face. Speaking of which, there he was, gazing their way without seeming to actually see them as Fox discussed something with one of the other board members. Very odd.

His mind had been wandering again. That was becoming a problem for Bruce Wayne. Batman still was not one hundred percent after his altercation with Bane, not that he would ever admit it to any one. Still, because of this he had taken more than his usual allotment of blows and the additional bruises were disrupting the public 'Bruce Wayne' mind set. He needed to concentrate on his façade. He blinked succeeding in bringing himself back into his character just in time to intercept a flying human projectile.

At first she hadn't really noticed the three men standing in the hallway. As herdad carried her closer she noticed that one had dark skin, one had light skin with blond hair, and the last was pale with dark hair. She watched them ideally as her father stopped to look at the papers that someone showed him. At first they were all just smiling and laughing. _The last one has a really funny smile,_ she thought to herself. Then the first two started to talk about something to do with more of the papers that seemed to be every where around daddy's work, and the last one got sort of a weird look on his face, all serious and grim. His silly smile went away and his mouth went all straight and firm. She recognized him and had no doubt that if he were too say something right then, he would sound just as raspy and low as the last time he had talked to her. When he had told her that she was safe.

Delighted, she sprang from her fathers arms and catapulted herself into the very surprised grasp of Gotham's very own billionaire playboy klutz.

Bruce doggedly lived up to his name as he allowed himself to become unbalanced and to fall back in an undoubtedly comic shower of pens and pencils. Still, Wayne made sure that his antics brought no harm to this child, whom, in that split second before he had caught her, he had recognized her as Jenn Greentree. A wry part of him hoped that she wasn't going to make a habit of this. He maneuvered himself so that he would take the brunt of the fall and even allowed himself a grimace of pain as he hit the floor. It seemed as though he had managed to roll on every bruise he had ever received, and he decided to indulge himself by expressing some measure of his discomfort. Besides no one expected Bruce Wayne to be a hero. Well, maybe one person did.

Jenn was understandably surprised as she began to fall, cause the Batman doesn't fall, right? And for a split second a terrible though crept into her small mind, what if this wasn't the Batman? If she made a mistake she would be in big trouble. She turned her glistening blue eyes to the man who was now sprawled on the floor with her childish weight still cradled protectively in his arms. Nope. This was the Batman. She remembered his eyes especially cause they reminded her of chocolate that got left by the fire place, all dark, and silky, and deep. A gin broke across her face.

"Hi." She said happily.

Bruce's mind slowed time down to a crawl as he digested this information and reviewed his options. Somehow this girl had connected irresponsible, careless Bruce Wayne with the dark, brooding figure of the Bat. Not entirely unforeseen as most of his deception rested on the ability of the grown person to completely ignore any and all evidence staring them in the face in favor of gossip, rumors, and preconceived ideas, as well as the hope that those who saw the Batman would not be those Bruce Wayne found himself associated with. While that hope was obviously dashed, and it was clear that the girl hadn't read enough tabloids to have any preconceived notions about the boy billionaire, he had rather hoped he was not as transparent as that. If he were he would surly have been discovered long before. His mask must have slipped, allowed the Bat to show through. A severe lapse, it should not have happened, pain was no excuse. And it was happening once again. Bruce Wayne was little more than a joke played on the world. A game. But even games have rules. And the first rule was that the public face of 'billionaire playboy' was never to be removed in view of other… less knowledgeable persons.

Regardless of his own shortcomings, he had to focus on the current problem; he could berate himself later, privately. Time seemed to speed up once more as Bruce smiled his trademark vacant smile at those beginning to crowd around. Time to play his part.

"Miss Greentree I presume?" quipped the Billionaire shooting a questioning glance at her mortified father, even thought he knew perfectly well who she was.

"Yep," she said "how come you fell down?"

"Most people do fall when young girls try to run them over." Responded the, literally, floored billionaire.

"Batman shouldn't fall down."

"Really?" asked the owner of Wayne Enterprises, becoming more serious, "I heard that you met him. You weren't hurt were you?"

"_You_ know that the Batman wouldn't hurt me." She said innocently. Bruce cringed internally.

"Mr. Wayne doesn't trust the Bat, do you Sir?" asked one of the employees from the already dispersing crowd.

"Yea Bruce, what did you say, 'the guy clearly has issues' or something?" called one of his peers. Bruce just shrugged, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder and looking strait into her upturned eyes: _Work with me_ he urged silently, even as her father thanked him for his understanding and apologized all in one breath.

"No problem," the playboy assured him offhandedly, waving absently as they walked away. What was he going to do about this?

Jenn held back tears as her father led her away, hardly hearing his speech on the proper way for young ladies to conduct themselves in public. She didn't understand what had just happened. She knew that the dark haired man was Batman, even if he didn't act like it. And no one else acted like he was either. Weird. Maybe, maybe he didn't want anyone to treat him different. _Or maybe_, she thought, _he hadn't told them_. That would make sense because he wouldn't want everyone to be scared of him. And a lot of people were scared of the Batman. Not her. But a lot of people. So maybe he didn't want anyone to know and that's why he acted silly. That made sense too.

And maybe she almost messed everything up because, now that she really thought about it, all heroes in stories had 'secret identities'. Before, she had always assumed that a secret identity was a special power or something, but maybe it was like being another person. And since it was a secret no one was supposed to know about it. But she did. Ooops. She hoped that the Batman wasn't mad at her. For once she was glad that no one listened to little girls, otherwise she would have been in _really_ big trouble. Bigg_er_, she corrected herself, tuning back into her father's lecture even as it came to a close.

"…can't believe you did that. Why? Can you at least tell me why?" he said, ending his rant with an exasperated question. He really did want to know, after all Jenn didn't usually go around hugging strangers, even before the kidnapping. In fact, since that terrible time, he had scarcely been able to get her to let go of his hand in public. Although this last week she had been considerably braver this last week, she still never strayed out of reach. The girl just shrugged, looking crest fallen.

"I thought that he was someone else." She said thinking quickly "he looked like Uncle Charlie." She said naming her Mother's brother. It wasn't even a falsehood, because he did. Sort of. "I'm sorry dad."

"No." he said looking a little sad himself. "It's okay." The silence continued until they came to his large, opulent office. "Tell you what kiddo, after I finish these papers, we'll get some ice cream before heading home. How's that?" her brilliant smile was all he needed to see.

A/N: Thanks to To IcyWaters for giving me the idea for the story, and everyone else who reviewed and encouraged me. Speaking of which- review now!


	2. Ch 2 Greentree Estates

As night once again enveloped Gotham in its shrouded shadows, a dark figure brooded as it careened down the roads outside the city. The Batman was unsettled. He did not enjoy the feeling.

For the second time the tumbler found itself caring it's grim passenger down the various lanes that led to the Greentree Estate. The girl had protected his identity. Even when she knew he knew, and yet he did not acknowledge her. She still hadn't said anything. That meant something. Especially in someone of her age. It meant a lot. And not just to the Bat.

He found that he could not leave her thinking less of the Batman. This one person who was not afraid of him, who had- hugged him. The Batman. The monster. Even Alfred had called the Batman that, at one time. And that simple act meant more to him than he could express.

Of course, he did not voice this, not even to himself. As he wended his way through the perimeter security, he rationalized the delay in his patrol with concern for his secret. But that didn't really fool him, it hadn't fooled Alfred either, but Bruce had long ago come to the conclusion that Alfred knew everything.

The caped form alighted silently on the roof.

A light tapping pulled the little girl from the edges of a dream. Her eyes snapped open, though she moved not a muscle otherwise, as if afraid to scare the noise away, or have it notice her. What could it be? Her mind poured over the possibilities. It could be a tree branch, or a monster, or… the Batman.

The tapping came again. She slowly turned over and her slight movement caused the noise to cease. It was dark, but the moon light that bled through the clouds allowed her to discern the vague outline of a horned helm through the lace curtains. She carefully slid out of her covers and padded up to her window seat. A small part of her was still a little, tiny bit mad at him, and she was _almost_ tempted to not answer. But he was her hero, he had saved her. Taken away the bad men, and promised to protect her. Even she knew enough not to drive away a guardian angel. She slid open the window.

He sat quietly, stillness radiating off him, observing the child in the ruffled, girlish nightgown. For her part she seemed content to sit silently, mirroring his posture.

"Thank you." He growled. The child jumped slightly, she had almost stopped expecting him to speak, or this him anyway.

"I didn't-"she hesitated "I didn't think it was very nice. Pretending not to know me."

"I'm sorry." He was silent again, unsure how to continue, though as always, he showed no sign of his inner struggle. "It's important that no one know. That you tell no one." His voice was grim.

"Because then the others would be afraid of you." The Bat was startled. He had never considered that, but:

"Yes. Among other things."

"Okay." Another pause. "You're not mad are you?" she asked with trepidation. The Batman looked questioningly at her. "Mad at me for finding out. We'll- still be friends, right?" she asked trembling slightly.

"Always." Replied the Dark Knight. Jenn smiled a watery smile of relief as she clutched her nightgown to her. The outside air was cold. The Batman silently cursed himself, what would Leslie say about this? Almost without thought, the Bat reached out and gathered up the young girl, wrapping her in the long folds of his dark cloak. Now, normally Jenn would protest being held like this, being, after all almost six and a half, and not a baby anymore. But it was different with the Batman. Different even, then her father. She hadn't felt so secure since the last time her mother had held her. She snuggled into the crook of the Dark Knight's arm, barley able to feel the faint traces of body heat radiating through his armor. Sleepily she gazed up at the forbidding line of his mouth, and the warm, chocolate eyes that gave lie to the rest. At least when they looked at her.

"Do you always act stupid when you're not Batman?" she asked eyes half closed. Caught so unawares was he by the blunt, strait forward way of the not quite seven year old, he actually let out a deep, gravelly chuckle. To the girl, it reminded her of the purring of a cat, a sound of joy that came from deep inside, but was rarely herd.

"Most of the time."

"Oh. That could be fun."

Slowly the Batman's internal chronometer ticked away the seconds. The City was calling him. His City. And he could not stay here. Very carefully he slipped wraith-like across the purple draped room and set his precious bundle in the large lilac bed, cautiously pulling up the lavender covers. Softly gloved hands brushed away a stray wisp of hair that had fallen from the child's braid. Then he was gone. A shadow in a sea of violet. On to darker business. Leaving behind a small legacy.

One day, the little girl promised herself, one day she would be like the Batman. Perhaps a partner? And together they would help people like her mom. Stop them from being hurt, killed. Batman did all that he could, but he was just one person. Anyways, her mom had always told her that two heads are better than one.

Besides, Batman was too sad. She made him laugh, and he needed to do that more often. See? She'd make a perfect partner for the Dark Knight.

The small girl wormed deeper into her covers, dreaming of caves, and capes, and bats, and little girls who grew into heroes.

One day…


End file.
